Summer Visitors Continue... A Visit From the Olsons (8-18 to 24-12)

Summer visitors continue – My sister, brother-in-law, and their 3 sons came to AK to visit in August… not the first time in AK for my sister and brother-in-law, but it was the first for the nephews. And... it was the first time for me to meet my newest nephew (he's about 10 months old here)! We got to check out some of the many kid-friendly things to do around Anchorage, and we also got to spend a couple days in Seward as well.

Our accommodations just outside of Seward


This wasn't our particular cabin, but was the owners' home. Very pretty!

In Seward, we went to the Sea Life Center to see the marine animals… including a baby walrus that had been abandoned at just a couple weeks old I believe on the Beaufort Sea coast (near Barrow). He’s quite a social creature there… cuddling with the people and everything.

Three of the "kids"... you can see who's having the most fun here at the touch tank!

That is some c-c-c-cold water there... that part is definitely worse than touching the creatures!

This is the baby walrus. You could see in the I.Sea.U where he was, but as you can see there were some beams and such in the way of a great view. Still... so neat to see the little guy! I would love to be one of the people in there keeping him company. He loves the attention and contact with other creatures!

You can see a few videos on these guys on You Tube. Here are a couple:

Checking out the seals outside...

This one was quite a ham. Clearly ready for his photo shoot!

The next day we went on a wildlife cruise around Resurrection Bay and got to see some whales (one was playing!), sea lions, and other animals. It was a beautiful day to be on the water… can’t complain about that!

The beautiful mountains along Resurrection Bay...

A jelly fish!

I love the cliffs around this area... they're so rugged and pretty!

Looking for the whale that the captain saw in the distance (and enjoying the sunshine!)

There he is! This guy was playing... bringing his tail up out of the water and slapping it back down for a big splash. A couple seconds later, he did it again. And again. And again. He was still doing it when our captain said we had to be moving on! Pretty cool.

More cool rocky cliffs...

And another whale! The captain had seen this one up ahead and continued forward as we watched for him to come up again. He came up right next to the boat! By the time I saw the whale and got the camera to my face, this is the only photo I got. You can see how close he was to us.

The neat thing was that the captain came on the PA as we were sitting there watching for the whale to surface again and told us about how they don't like to get that close to the animals, and they didn't realize that whale was moving toward them until he came up right there. He said there is an understanding/common plan among captains that if that happens, they immediately put the engine in idle and let the animal go to where they want. It's exactly what they did in this situation, and it was interesting to know that it was something that was intentional and thought about long ago. People really seem to respect wildlife around here and give them their space so they can remain wild, and I appreciate it every time I see an example of it. Especially in the tourism industry.

I've been on a few of these cruises now (and I don't think I'll ever get tired of them!) but this was the first one where I got to see Bear Glacier more closely than a "drive by" on the way to other parts of the bay.

Up close... you can really see the pile of silt (moraine) that is sort of a spine for the glacier. And who knew there were trees between the glacier and the water?! Not I. They did tell us that the glacier used to reach all the way to the water, but since it has retreated the trees have been able to grow in the last 40 years or so.


Getting back to the dock... we got to see a sea otter. They're so cute!

The next morning, Adam brought the 2 older boys out fishing on one of the many fishing charters in Alaska. They each caught a fish, which the guide fileted and we brought home to eat that night. Back at the cabin, we had some time to hang out and play some of the many games they had available for guests.

Battleship was the favorite game at the cabin, it seemed.

In Anchorage, we got to see a view of Anchorage from the Glen Alps overlook, checked out the Alaska Native Heritage Center, went for a hike in Kincaid Park, went to the Alaska State Fair, and sat at Point Woronzof to watch planes land at the airport. Many fun memories were made that week!

'Til next time...